What Happens When You Over Restrict

We hate counting calories or macros.  It's an exhausting process, prone to error, and moves you away from listening to your body and responding to its natural cues.  That is why our meal guidelines are designed with flexibility- vegetables are always unlimited, you can opt to include protein or not with certain meals, and add additional healthy fats like avocado, olives, or olive oil.

We like providing flexibility so you can have more on days your body needs it, and less on days you don't.  But what happens if you're continually having lighter days than recommended?  Having only two meals instead of three and skipping snacks? It's counterintuitive but seeking faster results by eating less can quickly backfire.

Trying to lose weight by eating as little as possible can stall your metabolism.  When your body is starved of energy over a

(1). Your body will adapt to conserve fat stores, rather than burn them.

Beyond the physical effects, we more frequently see the psychological effects.  Clients who don't allow themselves sufficient healthy fat, lean protein, and vegetables have a tendency to go completely off the rails when they finally have a treat meal.  Beyond that, they can experience fatigue, irritability, and brain fog. 

Once clients reach ADAPT, when you can phase in potatoes, squashes, and pseudo-grains, some are terrified of weight regain and don't experiment.  This causes such a feeling of deprivation that instead of having a few air-fried sweet potato fries they are suddenly shoveling in leftover pizza crust standing up in the kitchen on a Friday night. They deny themselves some healthy starches and wind up overdoing an unhealthy choice because they feel deprived.  This is where we remind you- less is not always more! You need to fuel your body with adequate protein, fat and carbohydrates (fruits and vegetables) throughout the day. Having too long of a fasting window is not advisable. 

Each meal and snack as designed in the meal plan includes primarily vegetables/fruit combined with 3-5 ounces of lean protein and healthy fat (olive oil, avocado, nuts). Your body needs the healthy carbs for energy, the protein for building muscles and the fat for satiety. 

We also ask that you do not skip components of a meal and then "double up" having a double serving in the subsequent meal.  Your body needs to process food in reasonable servings. This can be tough to acclimate to, as US serving sizes are notoriously distorted.  A proper serving of 3 oz of meat is about the size of a deck of cards (American Heart Association). You can have half an avocado per day but it needs to be in 1/4 increments. 

You are in charge of your body and your health, but we urge you to follow the meal guides and listen to your hunger cues. Eat snacks as needed to provide energy, and fill up on unlimited vegetables. Space meals throughout the day and don't allow yourself to get over-hungry.   

Occasionally skipping meals or fasting too long shouldn't affect your health, but making a habit of it, or failing to have a balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein will stall your progress and ultimately backfire.

REMEMBER: YOU HAVE TO NOURISH TO FLOURISH!

In good health,

Robyn, Megan, and the Sugar Snap Shift Team